Introduction: Using Android Ssh Shortcuts to Securely Control Your Linux Projects!

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About: Electronics geek, Openwrt, Linux, hardware hacker, maker, SF fan.

If you make internet connected stuff based on Linux/GNU and own a
Android device powered by CyanogenMod rejoice! This is a safe(as safe as it gets) way to control your projects, so unlock your home to your friends while miles away, start a car(or don’t), securely wipe all of your disks with one touch, feed the cats, or just turn your lights on and off.

All you need is:

1x rooted Android device

1x sl4a scripting layer for android

1x project that supports ssh with a dyn-dns setup on ssh port if you want direct access from the internet,and not only from wifi.

Step 1: Generate Public and Private Keys


Open terminal emulator:

su

cd /data/.ssh/

ssh-keygen -t rsa -C “Name”

You should see:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.

Enter file in which to save the key:

Press ‘Enter’ here to accept the default.

Enter passphrase (enter strong passphrase):

Enter same passphrase again:

The key fingerprint is:

5e:f5:7e:71:ec:2d:2c:46:02:9d:3e:89:4a:3a:b7:b6 Name

Copy public keys to device you wish to control:

If you use most linux distro’s you’ll have to do it this way:

scp /data/.ssh/name_id_rsa.pub root@OtherDevicesIP:.ssh/

ssh root@OtherDevicesIP ‘cat .ssh/name_id_rsa.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keys

For OpenWrt do this:

scp /data/.ssh/name_id_rsa.pub root@OtherDevicesIP:/etc/dropbear/

ssh root@OtherDevicesIP ‘cat /etc/dropbear/id_rsa_name.pub >> /etc/dropbear/authorized_keys

Step 2: Make a Script

Tap on menu button and than add shell:

Name the script and add command:

su -c “ssh -i /data/.ssh/name_id_rsa root@OtherDeviceAddress ‘command'”

Press menu button, then save&run!

Input yes when prompted to save host in known_hosts, and close terminal when prompted.

If you are conecting over dynamic dns than you must delete the IP address from /data/.ssh/known_hosts to end further suffering when the IP changes!

Step 3: Add a Shortcut to Homescreen

Add a new widget to the phone wall, search for sl4a scripts and add. It
will let you choose the script and background or forground way of executing it; choose the background one and repeate the process for every command you wish to add! And that’s it!